Sight

The first thins you see when you walk into Dogpatch is trees and vines closing in on the narrow cement driveway. It's a fairly long walk, but the greenery is pretty. To the left there is a small, rock house, probably belonging to the previous caretaker. It too has vines creeping up the sides. The downstairs window is broken; vandals, I'd assume. The steps that lead up to the front door are covered in brown dirt, leaves, and blue-tinted glass from the shattered door window. Inside the furniture remains, still and drooping from years of stagnancy. A fine dust has gathered on the canned foods that were left in the kitchen cabinets. The dilapidation is apparent in the peeling paint on the walls and the sagging ceiling. Once you leave the dim light of the house, you are blinded by the sun once more as you make your way up the cement walkway that leads to the pond, which is the center of the theme park. Surrounding the pond in close proximity are wooden buildings that look like they used to house game stands and the like. Further out you can see the remains of the rides that were popular in the late eighties; the old water slide towers above everything else, followed by the trolley and rails that once lead up to the roller coaster. The pond itself is green. One of the brightest, and lightest, greens I have ever seen. The culprit is moss. So thick you could probably place your tennis shoes on it and they would not touch the water. It is buzzing with life. All sorts of creatures live in the pond now; frogs, fish, bugs, etc. The wreck center near the game stands still hold some tables and chairs, though most have been knocked over, broken and painted on. Every window that the building held had been shattered at one point or another in the 12 years that the place lay abandoned, so the floor to the large cafeteria and kitchen were glittering with the blue tinted glass. There was even still old food in the giant walk in coolers. On the grounds, the rides lay rusting, what little rides were left anyway. I'm sure most, like the roller coasters, were taken down at the closing of the amusement park. The water slide and trolley remained, as did some of the boats used for bumper boats. Only two of the bumper boats remained above water. The rest were sank or sinking in the pond. The faded reds, blues, and yellows were a testament to how vibrant the park was before it's financial demise in '92.